Multiple supplier system and method for transacting business

ABSTRACT

A system and method for conducting electronic business between buyers and sellers is provided. The system and method disclose a means for at least one buyer to request and receive online bids from one or more sellers of a particular product according to a price curve or price schedule. A price schedule or curve for a product defining a product&#39;s unit price as a function of the volume of product ordered. Upon receipt of a plurality of bids from sellers, a buyer can then select a seller-supplier based at least in part on the price schedule.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/406,475 filed on Aug. 28, 2002, the entirety ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to demand aggregation and moreparticularly to a system and method for utilizing a volume pricing curvein conjunction with multiple suppliers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The buying and selling of products and services has resulted in a vastarray of buying schemes, which are used to vary the price at which suchproducts are sold.

One of the most common buying schemes which business encounter everydayis known as volume buying. According to this buying scheme, sellers seta fixed unit price for their products based on the volume of units thata buyer is willing to purchase. Buyers desiring to purchase productsfrom the seller are each required to pay the same fixed price dependingon the volume of units the buyer is purchasing. If a seller finds thatthe demand for a given product is greater or less than expected, theseller may later adjust the fixed price per unit of the product toaccount for such findings. Although the fixed price per unit systemprovides a simple way for a seller to conduct business with multiplebuyers, one drawback of this buying scheme is that it fails to providebuyers with a choice between a variety of different buying criteria thatmay be just as important or more important to the buyer than price.

For example, a buyer that is in need of goods, such as raw materials tomake products for an expedited order may be willing to pay a higherprice for a faster delivery time. Another buyer may be concerned withthe quality of the goods they are purchasing, such that the buyer wouldpay a higher price for goods having a minimum number of defects. Yetanother buyer may be concerned with the warranty time allotted for thegoods they are purchasing, and may want the warranty of the goods thatthey are purchasing to match or exceed the warranty the buyers areoffering their own customers.

Yet another buying scheme which has been advanced in recent years isbuyer-driven bidding. According to this buying scheme, a single buyerdesiring to obtain a product communicates a price at which the buyer iswilling to purchase the product to multiple sellers. Each of the sellersis provided an opportunity to review the buyer's price. A sale iscomplete when one of the sellers agrees to sell the product to the buyerat the price suggested by the buyer. While the buyer-driven biddingscheme provides advantages for certain types of transactions when, forexample, sellers may be willing to sell products at lower than normalprices, the uncertainties involved with whether a buyer's offer will beaccepted is often problematic for high volume commercial transactions inwhich the reliability that a transaction will be complete is ofparamount importance. Another problem with the present buying schemes isthat buyers have no control in determining the criteria of the productor services that they may receive, while the seller has no control ofthe type of purchase that the buyers request.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order toprovide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. Thissummary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is intendedneither to identify key or critical elements of the invention nordelineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to presentsome concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to themore detailed description that is presented later.

A system and method for demand aggregation with multiple suppliers isprovided. At least one buyer can request a plurality of suppliers torespond to an online bid. The suppliers can review terms of the requestand accept or submit changes for the buyer's review. Upon agreed terms,the suppliers submit bids based on the request. A price curve displays alowest price bid for a respective price point on the curve, along withthe corresponding supplier. A buyer can then select a supplier based onthe curve.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the inventionthen, comprises the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects ofthe invention. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few ofthe various ways in which the principles of the invention may beemployed and the present invention is intended to include all suchaspects and their equivalents. Other objects, advantages and novelfeatures of the invention will become apparent from the followingdetailed description of the invention when considered in conjunctionwith the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagrammatic view of a system for electronicallyconducting business in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 a illustrates a block diagram of a central server in accordancewith an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 2 b is a schematic illustration of a client computer operativelycoupled to a server computer system in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a web page providing options to buyers and sellersdesiring to conduct business electronically in accordance with an aspectof the present invention.

FIG. 4 a illustrates a buyer's buying criteria input screen inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 4 b illustrates a buyer's product ordering criteria input screen inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 4 c illustrates a list of seller's deals matching the buyer'sproduct ordering criteria in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart for a buyer desiring to conduct businesselectronically in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates an on-line registration form for a buyer inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a buyer database stored in a central server inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 8 a illustrates a web page for a buyer to create or modify a dealin accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 8 b illustrates a seller's buying and selling criteria input screenin accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 8 c illustrates a seller's product ordering criteria input screenin accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 8 d illustrates a input screen for adding buying and sellingcriteria to the deal in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow chart for a seller desiring to conductbusiness electronically in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 illustrates an on-line registration form for a seller inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates a seller database stored in the central server inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of an electronic forum forconducting a buyer sponsored business transaction in accordance with anaspect of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an exemplary bid form in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic illustration of an electronic forum forconducting a buyer and seller co-sponsored business transaction inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described with respect to theaccompanying drawings in which like reference numerals are used to referto like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposesof explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order toprovide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It may beevident, however, that the present invention may be practiced withoutthese specific details. In other instances, well-known structures anddevices are shown in block form in order to facilitate describing thepresent invention.

As used in this application, the terms “component” and “system” areintended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, acombination of hardware and software, software, or software inexecution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being,a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable,a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way ofillustration, both an application running on a server and the server canbe a component. One or more components may reside within a processand/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on onecomputer and/or distributed between two or more computers.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a system 10 is shown in which multiplebuyers 15 and sellers 20 are electronically linked via a central server25. As discussed in more detail below, the central server 25 isconfigured to provide the buyers 15 and sellers 20 with a convenientforum in which to buy and sell goods in accordance with a multiplecriteria buying and selling methodology described herein. The forum may,for example, be a pre-established Internet web page where sellers 20 areable to post product information and the buyers 15 are able to orderproducts. The multiple criteria buying scheme calls for a seller 20 topost a number of deals for a given product, which vary according todifferent offering criteria defining the limits of a number of sellingcriteria, such as for example, price, volume, quality and delivery time.Each buyer 15 is able to enter a range of criteria that the buyer wouldrequire for a deal to be made. A list of sellers and prospective dealsoffered by these sellers is generated for the buyers to review. Eachbuyer 15 can then review the list of deals and choose a deal based onthe buyers particular needs. In this manner, each of the buyers 15 canbe certain that particular thresholds have been met and also beguaranteed of completing a deal.

It is to be appreciated that the present invention has wideapplicability to the purchasing and/or selling of a variety of differentproducts and/or services. For example, the present invention may beapplied within the context of purchasing and/or selling airline ticketswherein buyers criteria may include, for example: (1) reputation ofairline; (2) reliability; (3) timeliness; (4) price; (5) number ofalternative flights; (6) comfort; (7) quality of service; and (8)quality of foods. The sellers' criteria may include, for example: (1)volume of tickets; (2) buyer's versatility in time schedule; (3) buyer'smethod of payment, etc.

The present invention may also be applied in the context of purchasingand/or selling an automobile wherein buyer's criteria may include, forexample: (1) reputation of automobile manufacturer; (2) reputation ofdealer; (3) price of automobile; (4) delivery options; (5) automobileavailability; (6) safety; and (7) financing terms; etc. While, theseller's criteria may include, for example: (1) buyer'screditworthiness; (2) desired finance terms; (3) delivery requests ofbuyer; (4) delivery dates; etc.

Thus, the present invention intends to allow buyers and/or sellers ofproducts and/or services to pre-select a plurality of criteria prior tonegotiating a deal for the product and/or service. Of course thepre-selected criteria will vary depending on the particular productand/or service. The scope of the present invention as defined in thehereto appended claims intends to include any product and/or service(and plurality of pre-selected criteria associated therewith) suitablefor deal-making in accordance with the present invention.

Each of the buyers 15 and sellers 20 may access the central server 25 inany of a variety of ways. For example, in the present aspect, each buyer15 and seller 20 is shown to be part of separate establishments 30 whichinclude one or more respective computer systems 35 and local servers 40.The computer systems 35 may, for example, be a desktop or laptopcomputer with a local area network (LAN) interface for communicatingover a network backbone 45 to the local server 40. The local servers 40,in turn, interface with the central server 25 via a network cable 50 orthe like. It will be appreciated that while the present aspect depictsthe computer system 35 communicating with the central server 25 viahardwired network connections, in an alternative aspect the computersystem 35 may interface with the central server 25 using a modem,wireless local area and/or wide area networks, etc. Further, it will beappreciated, that while the buyers 15 and sellers 20 are shown tocommunicate with the central server 25 via different computer systems35, it will be appreciated that the buyers 15 and/or sellers 20 mayaccess the central server 25 from the same computer system 25.

Turning now to FIG. 2 a, a block diagram of the hardware components ofthe central server 25 is shown. In particular, the central server 25includes a central processor 100 for performing the various functionsdescribed herein. A memory 105 is coupled to the processor 100 andstores operating code and other data associated with the operations ofthe central server 25. A user interface 110 is also coupled to theprocessor 100 and provides an interface through which the central server25 may be directly programmed or accessed. The user interface 110 may,for example, be an alphanumeric keyboard and mouse. A network interface115 coupled to the processor 100 provides multiple connections fortransceiving information with buyers 15 and sellers 20 over the networkcables 50.

As previously stated, the present invention could take advantage of thewide availability and versatility of the Internet. Referring to FIG. 2b, a schematic block diagram that depicts an environment of interest toone aspect of the present invention. The client computer system 35 isshown connected to the central server computer system 25 that is part ofthe Internet 60. The client computer system 35 and server 25 areconnected via an Internet connection 55 using a public switched phonenetwork, for example, such as those provided by a local or regionaltelephone operating company. The Internet connection 55 may also beprovided by dedicated data lines, Personal Communication Systems(“PCS”), cable, microwave, or satellite networks, for example, or anysuitable means. It is to be understood that the terms client and serverare to be construed in the broadest sense, and that all suchconstructions of the terms are intended to fall within the scope of thehereto appended claims.

Turning now to FIG. 3, an exemplary Internet web page 120 which providesbuyers 15 and sellers 20 with access to a forum for conducting businessusing the multiple criteria buying methodology described in detailbelow, is shown. The web page 120 is shown to include hyperlinks forhandling both registered and un-registered buyers and sellers ofproducts. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, registered buyers may selecta hyperlink to a registered buyer login screen via hyperlink 125 whilenon-registered buyers may select a hyperlink to a non-registered buyerregistration screen via hyperlink 135. Similarly, registered sellers mayselect a hyperlink to a registered seller login screen via hyperlink130, while non-registered sellers may select a hyperlink to anon-registered seller registration screen via hyperlink 140. While thepresent aspect illustrates separate hyperlinks for buyers and sellers,it will be appreciated that such hyperlinks could alternatively becombined and the status of buyer or seller could be determined during alater stage in the login procedure.

Turning now to FIG. 4 a, in accordance with one aspect of the presentinvention, registered buyers 15 enter several product buying criteriainto a “Buyer's Buying Criteria” input page 150. The buyer 15 selects aproduct or service from a list in a scroll down menu 152. It should beappreciated that the list on the scroll down menu 152 could include anynumber of related or non-related goods and services only limited by thesize of a database used in accordance with the present invention. Uponselecting a product or service (e.g., glass) from the scroll down menu152, a list of seller criteria automatically appears in a window 160.The list of seller criteria appearing in the window 160 is the minimuminputs to be provided by the buyer to obtain a deal listing. Theseminimum inputs are decided by the class of sellers selling theindividual product or service and/or decided by the system administratorof the system. The buyer 15 can then begin adding buyer buying criteriaby selecting the criteria from a scroll down list 154, and clicking onan “Add to List” button 156 with a computer mouse (not shown), forexample. If the buyer 15 desires to remove a buyer buying criteria, itis only necessary to highlight the criteria in the window 160 and clickon a “Remove from List” button 158. Once the list is completed, thebuyer 15 may add additional criteria thought to be important to thebuyer not in the selection of choices. These additional criteria willnot be used by the buyer in this particular deal search, but will beprovided to the sellers, so that they can be alerted of these additionalcriteria important to the buyer. The seller may opt to add to theselectable choices these additional buyer's buying criteria at a latertime. Once the complete custom buyer buying criteria list is completed,the buyer can click on the “Submit Criteria” button 162 for submissionof the buyer's buying criteria to build a “Buyer's Product OrderingCriteria” input screen 165, as illustrated in FIG. 4 b.

Turning now to FIG. 4 b, in accordance with one aspect of the presentinvention, registered buyers 15 enter several product ordering criteriathat would be acceptable to the buyer 15 on the “Buyer's ProductOrdering Criteria” input screen 165. In this particular example, thebuyer 15 is looking to purchase raw glass by the pound, however, manydifferent types of products and services could be purchased/sold usingthe present invention. The buyer's ordering criteria of this exampleincludes: price range 166 in dollars per pound; volume range 168 innumber of pounds; delivery range 170 in days; the acceptable % ofdefects 172 in percent; and the minimum required warranty 174 in months.The buyer 15 can then list the names of the sellers 20 in the window 176that the buyer 15 has bought products from previously, so that the buyer15 can be entitled to any good customer or multi-purchase discountsoffered by the sellers 20. Once the buying ordering criteria is entered,the buyer can search for deals by clicking on the “Search for Deal”button 178 on the computer screen using the computer's mouse. Thepresent invention then utilizes a search engine to search through adatabase of deals offered by various sellers of the product, andprovides an output of those deals to the buyer that matches the buyer'sordering criteria by outputting a list of these deals on a “DealMatching Ordering Criteria” output page 180, as shown in FIG. 4 c.

Turning now to FIG. 4 c. in accordance with one aspect of the presentinvention, registered sellers 20 set up a variety of deals 182 by whichregistered buyers 15 are able to order products. As will be discussed inmore detail below, the deals 182 of the present aspect are set up todisplay the following information which is input from the seller 20and/or calculated by the processor 100 of the central processor 25according to the deal 182, which includes: a seller name 184; a dealnumber 186; a volume ordering range required 188 to obtain a currentprice/pound level 190; an expected delivery time 192; a warranty period196; and a percentage of defects 198 of the product the buyer 15 canexpect to receive in a given order. Based on such information, buyers 15can make an informed decision as to whether they desire to commit to anorder on a particular deal based on the criteria that is important tothat particular buyer. If a buyer 15 desires to place an order, thebuyer 15 inputs a seller 183, a deal number 185 and a volume order 187.The buyer 15 then clicks on the “Submit Deal” button 189 with a mousepointer, for example, on the computer display and the deal is finalized.

Turning now to FIG. 5, the general steps taken by a buyer 15 enteringthe web page 150 is shown. More particularly, in step 200 it isinitially determined whether a buyer 15 is registered or not. If thebuyer 15 is not registered, the buyer 15 selects hyperlink 135 (FIG. 3)and proceeds to step 205. In step 205 the processor 100 of the centralserver 25 requests that the buyer 15 fill out a registration form. Forexample, the buyer 15 is requested to fill out a registration form 208such as that shown in FIG. 6. In the present example, the registrationform 208 requests that the buyer 15 enter the following information:buyer name; address; primary contact person; phone; fax; e-mail; shortdescription of company; preferred login user name; and preferredpassword. With respect to the user name and password, the processor 100is configured to determine whether the selected user name and passwordcombination are available and, if not, to prompt the buyer 15 to enter anew user name and password until an available combination is selected.

In step 210 (FIG. 5), the buyer is requested to fill out a credit cardapplication so that purchases made on the web site may be immediatelyapproved. The credit card registration and approval process may beaccomplished via a hyperlink to one of various electronic credit cardapproval agencies which check the buyer's credit rating and set up amerchant account with a line of credit. For example, an electroniccredit card approval agency which may be used in conjunction with thepresent invention can be found on the Internet athttp://www.interent-ecommerce.com. Next, in step 215, the processor 100determines if the credit card application has been approved by theelectronic credit card approval agency. If the credit card applicationhas not been approved, the processor 100 proceeds to step 220 where amessage is sent back to the buyer 15 indicating regret that they havenot been approved for a line of credit and therefore have notsuccessfully completed the registration process. In step 220, a customerservice telephone number also is provided to the buyer 15 in case thebuyer has questions and/or desires to pursue registration further.

If in step 215, the processor 100 is informed that the buyer 15 has beenprovided a line of credit and a credit card number has been issued, theprocessor 100 proceeds to step 225. In step 225 the buyer informationfrom the registration form 208 and the newly issued credit card numberare stored in a buyer database 270 (FIG. 7) in the memory 105 of theprocessor 25 (FIG. 2 a). Next, in step 230, the processor 100 isconfigured to provide the buyer 15 with the newly issued credit cardnumber so that the buyer 15 is able to purchase products and/orservices. Furthermore, the processor 100 is configured to provide areport to the system administrator who then mails a confirmation copy ofthe buyer's information stored in the buyer's database to the buyer 15.This completes the buyer's registration process.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 5, if in step 200, a buyer has alreadyregistered, the buyer 15 may login as a registered user by selecting theregistered user hyperlink 125 (FIG. 3). Once selected, the processor100, in step 240 prompts the buyer 15 to enter a user ID and password.Upon entry of such information, the processor 100 in step 240 verifiesthe user ID and password with those stored in the buyer database 270(FIG. 7). If the user ID and password entered by the buyer 15 does notmatch any entry in the buyer database 270, the processor 100 in step 240returns to step 235 for re-entry of such information. If, however, instep 240, a valid user ID and password are entered, the processor 100proceeds to step 245.

In step 245, the processor 100 provides the buyer 15 with a buyer'sbuying criteria input screen where the buyer 15 is able to enter avariety of buying criteria that is important to that particular buyer15. The buyer 15 selects a plurality of buying criteria and submits thecriteria, so that the system can build an input ordering criteria form.In step 250, the buyer 15 enters the range of ordering criteria that isacceptable to the buyer in the input ordering criteria form, and thensubmits this criteria causing the system search engine to match theordering criteria with a list of seller deals in a seller deal database.The search engine then lists the seller deals matching the buyer'sbuying and ordering criteria. As discussed above, the deals 182 providedto the buyer 15 provide the buyer 15 with information regarding the saleof a particular product such as, for example, the volume range to get aparticular price per pound, the delivery time, the warranty period andthe percentage of defects in each order that a buyer can expect. Inorder to allow a buyer to quickly find deals 182 of interest, theprocessor 100 in step 245 provides the buyer 15 with the input “Buyer'sBuying Criteria” input screen 150, so that active deals 182 of interestmay be found.

Once a search is completed, the buyer 15 in step 250 is able to select adesired deal 182 from the results obtained. For example, the buyer 15may choose a desired deal because it has a faster delivery time than theother deals. The buyer 15 may choose a deal because it has a lowpercentage of defects in the goods, or has a longer warranty than othergoods. Regardless of the deal, the buyer 15 may choose, the buyer 15 canmake an informed decision based on a variety of buying criteria. If thebuyer 15 is unsatisfied with the search results or simply desires tore-perform the search, the buyer 15 at any time is able to return backto a previous screen selecting the “back” function available using anInternet browser such as, for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer®,Netscape®, etc. Additionally, a hyperlink to various screens, such asthe search screen, preferably is provided on each web page.

Upon selecting a deal 182, the processor 100 in step 255 displays a pageof standard terms and conditions which the buyer 15 must agree to priorto completing the deal. The terms and conditions relate to the termsgoverning the sale of the product or service according to which both thebuyer and seller are willing to conduct business. If the terms andconditions are not accepted, the processor 100 returns the buyer 15 tostep 245, so that another deal 182 may be selected and/or another searchmay be performed. If, however, in step 260 the terms and conditions areaccepted, the processor 100 proceeds to allow the buyer 15 to completethe deal in step 265.

Turning now to FIG. 8 a, in accordance with one aspect of the presentinvention, registered sellers 20 enter into a “Create or Modify Deal”screen 275. The seller 20 can choose a product or service from theproduct/service scroll down menu 276 and choose to either click on an“Open New Deal” button 278, a “Modify Existing Deal” button 280 or a“Review Buyer Inputted Criteria” button 282. If the buyer selects the“Review Buyer Inputted Criteria” button 282, the seller will be providedwith a list of buyer buying criteria that the buyers 15 manuallyinputted into the window 160 of FIG. 4 a. This allows the sellers 20 toreview criteria that is important to their buyers, which the seller werenot aware. If a seller 20 chooses to click on the “Open New Deal” button278, the seller 20 will enter into a “Seller's Product Selling Criteria”input screen 300, as illustrated in FIG. 8 b. If the seller 20 choosesto click on the “Modify Existing Deal” button 280, the seller 20 willenter into a “Seller's Product Offering Criteria” input screen 330, asillustrated in FIG. 8 c with the seller being prompted to enter a dealnumber, which causes the ordering criteria of the chosen deal number tobe editable in the input screen.

Referring to FIG. 8 b illustrating the “Seller's Selling Criteria” inputscreen 300, the seller 20 can begin building a new deal by firstselecting a number of seller additional criteria, and seller criteriafrom a list in a scroll down menu 302 and a list in scroll down menu306, respectively. The seller can click on the “Add Seller AdditionalCriteria” button 304 for adding seller additional criteria from thescroll down menu 302 into a window 310 containing a deal criteria list303. The deal criteria list 303 includes a first portion listing the“Product Agreed upon Seller Criteria” 305, decided by the group ofsellers for a particular product/service and/or the systemadministrator, a second portion which is the seller criteria list 307and a third portion which is the seller additional criteria list 309. Itshould be noted that the criteria in the seller additional criteria listis not a mandatory criteria for the buyer when the buyer is inputtingthe buyer's buying criteria in step 245 of FIG. 5, but is listed in theterms and condition step 265 after a deal is chosen by the buyer. Theseller can add seller criteria by selecting the criteria from the scrolldown bar 306 and clicking on the “Add Seller Criteria” button 308. Theseller can remove any of the criteria from the overall criteria list,except for the “Product Agreed upon Seller Criteria”, by highlightingthe selection with the computer mouse and clicking on a “Remove fromList” button 312. The seller 20 can add new selling criteria by clickingon a hyperlink 316 labeled “Add New Criteria” sending the seller 20 toan “Adding and Modifying Deal Criteria” screen 360, illustrated in FIG.8 d. The seller can modify criteria by highlighting the criteria inwindow 310 and clicking on a hyperlink 318 labeled “Modify ExistingCriteria” sending the seller to the “Adding and Modifying Deal Criteria”screen 360 with the criteria information defaulting to the highlightedcriteria for modification therefrom.

Referring now to FIG. 8 c, once the criteria is/are selected andsubmitted, the system generates the “Seller's Product Offering Criteria”input screen 330. A seller number 331, a product type 332 and a currentdeal number 333 are automatically generated at the top of input screen330. The seller 20 can enter offering limits relating to the sellingcriteria of the seller's product for a particular deal. The seller'soffering criteria of this example includes: price 166 in dollars perpound; volume range 168 in the number of pounds; delivery time 170 indays; the % of defects 172 in percent; and the warranty 174 in months.The seller 20 can then list the names of the buyers 15 in a window 344that the deal is being offered or type in the term “All” if the offer isopen to any buyer. Once the seller offering criteria is entered, theseller 20 can submit the deal by clicking on a “Submit/Modify Deal”button 350 on the computer screen by using the computer's mouse. Thepresent invention then creates a record of the deal in a database ofdeals offered by various sellers 20 of the product, so that deals whichseller's offering criteria match the buyer's ordering criteria can beoutputted to the buyer 15 in a list of deals on the “Deals MatchingOrdering Criteria” output page 180, as shown in FIG. 4 c.

Referring now to FIG. 8 d, the “Adding Deal Criteria” input screen 360will be described. The seller number 331, the product type 332 and thecurrent deal number 333 are automatically generated at the top of inputscreen 360. The seller 20 can enter a criteria name in the “EnterCriteria Name” box 362. The seller can then choose whether the criteriais a seller type or a seller additional criteria type from a firstscroll down menu 364. The seller 20 choose a criteria type from a secondscroll down menu 366 and the criteria units in a third scroll down menu368. The seller can submit this new criteria for the current deal byclicking on the “Submit New Criteria for Current Deal” button 370 or addthe new criteria for all the product deals by clicking on the “SubmitNew Criteria for All Product Deals” button 372. The seller 20 may at anytime review the buyer inputted criteria submitted by the buyer 15 thatis not in any of the seller's deals by clicking on the “Review BuyerInputted Criteria” button 376. The seller 20 can review this list todetermine whether or not the seller 20 would like to add this criteriato the present deal or all deals to ensure that they are in accord withbuyer needs. The seller 20 may also review the criteria that are offeredby other sellers, but not the current seller, by clicking on a “ReviewOther Seller Criteria” button 378. This will help the seller keepcurrent on what the other seller's selling criteria are being utilizedfor matching to the buyer's buying criteria to satisfy the currentmarket demands.

If the seller would like to return to the “Create or Modify Deal” screen275 the seller 20 can click on the “Cancel” button at any time.Furthermore, if the seller 20 simply desires to re-perform the search,the seller 20 at any time is able to return back to a previous screenselecting the “back” function available using an Internet browser suchas, for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer®, Netscape®, etc.Additionally, a hyperlink to various screens, such as the search screen,preferably is provided on each web page.

Proceeding now to FIG. 9, the operations of the processor 100 of thecentral server 25 in handling sellers 20 is depicted. In particular, theprocessor 100 in step 400 initially determines whether a seller 20 isregistered or not based on which hyperlink 130, 140 (FIG. 3) the seller20 selects. If the seller 20 selects hyperlink 140 indicating the selleris not registered, the processor 100 proceeds to step 405. In step 405,the processor 100 provides the seller 20 with a seller's registrationform 408 (FIG. 10) to fill out. The registration form 408 is similar tothe registration form 208 for the buyer 20 and allows the seller 20 toselect a preferred user ID and password. Once completed, the processor100 proceeds to step 410 where the seller 20 is requested to submit acredit card application so that all costs and fees associated withconducting business may be directly billed to the seller's credit card.As discussed above, the credit card approval process may occur by athird party vendor accessible via a hyperlink.

Once the credit card application is submitted by the seller 20, theprocessor 100 proceeds to step 415 where the processor 100 determines ifthe credit card application has been approved. If the credit cardapplication has not been approved, the processor 100 proceeds to step420 where the seller 20 is informed that their credit card applicationhas not been approved and the seller 20 is provided with a customerservice telephone number so that the seller 20 may optionally set up theaccount in a different fashion. If, however, in step 415 the credit cardapplication is accepted, the processor 100 proceeds to step 425 wherethe seller information is stored in a seller database 427 (FIG. 11).Finally, in step 430, the processor 100 is configured to provide theseller 20 with the newly issued credit card number so that the seller 20is able to open deals. Further, the processor 100 is configured toprovide a report to a system administrator who then mails a confirmationcopy of the seller's information stored in the seller's database to theseller 20. This completes the seller's registration process.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 9, if in step 400 a seller has alreadyregistered, the seller 20 may login as a registered user by selectingthe registered user hyperlink 130 (FIG. 3). Once selected, the processor100, in step 435 prompts the seller 20 to enter their user ID andpassword. Upon input of the user ID and password, the processor 100proceeds to step 440 where the processor 100 verifies a valid user IDand password have been entered by comparison with the information storedin the seller database 427 (FIG. 11). If the user ID and passwordentered by the seller 20 does not match any entry in the seller database427, the processor 100 in step 440 returns to step 435 for re-entry ofsuch information. If, however, in step 440, a valid user ID and passwordare entered, the processor 100 proceeds to step 445.

Upon successful entry of a user ID and password, the seller 20 isprovided with a seller option screen 275 as shown in FIG. 8 a. Forexample, the seller 20 may decide to open a new deal 182 or the seller20 may decide to view a current deal 182 for one of a number of goods orservices offered by the seller 20 or review a list of buyer inputtedcriteria. Accordingly, if in step 445, the processor 100 determines thatthe seller 20 desires to open new deal 182 for a selected product, theprocessor 100 proceeds to step 460.

In step 460, the processor 100 requests that the seller 20 enter theseller's selling criteria, so that the system can build a seller'sproduct offering criteria input screen, in step 465. For example, in thepresent aspect the product agreed upon seller criteria is the volumerange of the order and the price per pound of the order, the seller'sselling criteria includes the delivery time and warranty with quality tobe added next, and the seller additional criteria is that the buyer paythe cost of shipping the goods. As discussed above, the processor 100utilizes the information input from the seller 20 to display a seller'sproduct ordering input form 330.

In step 465, the processor 100 request that the seller enter the limitsassociated with the seller's selling criteria chosen in step 460, andthe list of buyer's entitled to be offered the present deal. Theinformation is entered and submitted to form a deal. The processor 100uses this information to match buying and ordering criteria of the buyerwith selling and offering criteria of the seller, so that deals can becompleted in an expedited manner.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 9, if in step 445, the seller 20 has notselected to open a new deal, the processor 100 determines in step 450whether the seller 20 has decided to modify an existing deal 182. In thepresent aspect of the invention, the seller 20 is limited to modifythose deals which they have opened. Accordingly, if the processor 100determines that the seller does desire to modify a deal 182, theprocessor 100 provides the seller 20 with a list of deals 180 which theseller has opened. Upon selection of one of the deals 182, the processor100 proceeds to step 455 where the deal 182 is displayed to the seller20. If a deal 182 is not entered in step 450, or following steps 455 and460, the processor 100 returns to step 445.

Regarding FIG. 12, although the present invention has been largelydescribed within the context of a seller sponsored deal room, it is tobe appreciated that a buyer or buyers may sponsor a deal room toaggregate purchasing goods/services from a plurality of sellers. Forexample, a buyer can license a DealRoom and requests that suppliersrespond to an online offer. With a pre-approved name and password (e.g.,from the registration page completed by the supplier), the supplier cansee the offer with offer details and/or a specification. The suppliercan choose to agree to accept terms of the specification; alternatively,the supplier can make a change to the offer and submit such changes forthe buyer's review.

Referring briefly to FIG. 13, an exemplary bid form 500 is illustrated.Exemplary bid form 500 contains price schedule 502 for specifying volumeprice points, details section 504 for indicating specific details of theoffer, remarks section 506 for submitting changes to bid for a buyer toreview, and buttons 508 for, inter alia, modifying prices, initiatingdisplay of the current low bids, and submitting a bid to the buyer.Thus, for example, a supplier can be asked to complete an online bid 500for a set volume of widgets. Supplier A sees a form such as bid form 500that includes details 504 of the offer (e.g. ship date, range, timeperiod of offer, minimum volume quantity, total quantity available,volume reached on last offer, volume of last x number of offers, averagefor this product over the past x number of offers) and price points 502for the supplier to complete. As an illustration of this example:

A buyer requests a supplier to complete an online bid for the followingprice schedule or curve (as shown in FIG. 13):

-   -   Up to 100,000 widgets    -   100,001 to 300,000 widgets    -   301,000 to 500,000 widgets    -   500,001 to 1,000,000 widgets        Supplier A completes price information as follows:    -   Up to 100,000 widgets: $5.50 per widget    -   100,001 to 300,000 widgets: $4.50 per widget    -   301,000 to 500,000 widgets: $4.00 per widget    -   500,001 to 1,000,000 widgets: $3.75 per widget        The supplier then submits the price information to the        requesting buyer (e.g., by clicking a submit button). According        to one aspect of the present invention, the supplier may be able        to see other bids submitted by other companies. The bids can be        shown in a variety of formats including: by supplier's name, by        lowest price to highest price, by price curves (both individual        and in comparison to one another), by the lowest priced supplier        at each price point, etc. The curve can also be shown in “the        lowest price at each price point” and indicate the supplier as        well for each price level, as illustrated below:    -   Up to 100,000 widgets: $5.00 per widget—Supplier B    -   100,001 to 300,000 widgets: $4.25 per widget—Supplier B    -   301,000 to 500,000 widgets: $4.00 per widget—Supplier A    -   500,001 to 1,000,000 widgets: $3.65 per widget—Supplier D        Furthermore, it should be noted that buyers can define a period        of time for receiving all bids from suppliers.

A price curve can be displayed online such that information receivedfrom the suppliers can be viewed in real time. The supplier can quicklymodify these prices by clicking on a “modify price” for each of theprice tiers. Additionally, it should be noted that a bid can be markedas a “lowest price wins” bid or “price is but one component of the bid”as determined by the buyer. This type of bid marking facilitates apricing strategy determination by the supplier.

Submitting bids can be performed in a variety of ways. For example, aperiod of time can be posted in which changes will be accepted. Theprice curve changes in real time; however, upon expiration of the timeperiod the price curve can become fixed. The supplier can view thesuppliers that have “won” at the end of the time period and/or havepresented a lowest price for a corresponding price point. As anotherexample, a buyer can define a time in which the suppliers must havetheir final bids submitted. Subsequently, when the bids are received bythe buyer, the bids automatically populate according to a lowest priceat each price point. Price curves can then be posted to a website forparticipating suppliers to view the final bids received.

Additionally, the system can include a resubmit price curve feature. Theresubmit feature allows a supplier to automatically replenish a currentprice curve with a previously submitted price curve. The system can alsoinclude a matching feature. The matching feature allows a supplier tomatch a winning price curve from a previous bidding session.

A buyer, authorized to access an order (e.g., with a username andpassword), can view a current price curve and place an order for avolume of widgets listed. The buyer can view which supplier isassociated with each price point. For example, the buyer can move acursor over the price point and see the supplier with the lowest priceat this point. Alternatively, the buyer can view a list all suppliersthat have submitted price curves and can sort the list by the lowestprice bids. Accordingly, the buyer does not have to select the supplierthat submitted the lowest bid. Instead, the buyer can set parameters orrules within selection software based on a differential between a firstsupplier and a second supplier. For instance, if the first supplier iswithin 15% of lowest price, the first supplier should be given the“price slot” for that part of the curve and/or a supplier that won thelast round for the price curve will be a default supplier if the nextprice given is not more than 5% more than the current supplier's pricecurve. The parameters/rules can be published for the supplier to reviewprior to accepting to bid.

The buyer can also determine a product ship date. For example, the offercan have the following selections:

-   -   Single date: October 5^(th)    -   Multiple ship dates: October 5^(th), November 5^(th), December        5^(th)    -   Range of dates: October 1 thru October 8^(th)        Additionally, the buyer can review the offer and, after placing        an order, make a change to the ship date and enter new volumes        for each ship date. Although, changes can be limited to a        defined time period established by the buyer and agreed to by        the supplier. Furthermore, as volume is ordered and the ship        dates are selected, the price curve can be set to dynamically        change to reflect a current state of the order. As more volume        is ordered, the price continues to drop. As an example:

Each buyer is able to place his/her order and then select from the shipdates shown:

-   -   20,000 widgets ordered    -   Current price point:    -   The ship dates are shown:        -   October 8^(th): 10,000 widgets        -   November 8^(th): 5,000 widgets        -   December 8^(th): 5,000 widgets            Flexibility can be built into the delivery schedule as well            based on requirements of the buyer. Additionally, buyers can            later add to the order (e.g., by selecting an icon). Any            additional product ordered during this period falls under            the last price point achieved. As an alternative, if the            price point reached during an offer was supplier A, and the            volume continues to increase after the order, the price can            adjust in accordance with the original price curve.

The multiple supplier demand aggregation system can also include a“running” demand aggregation scenario. This scenario includes apredetermined time for an open order period (e.g., six months). If thereis a supplier within a lowest price tier, then the supplier agrees to apredetermined number of ship dates (e.g., one per month) and isconsidered the current supplier for the order or the incumbent. As moreproducts are ordered during the set time period, the price can continueto decrease. Then, at the end of the time period, a final price isdetermined, an average price paid is shown, and if the average pricepaid is higher than the final price shown on the curve, system softwarecalculates an amount the supplier owes the buyer. For example, if500,000 pieces are ordered with a price shown of $3.50 per piece and theaverage price paid during the period was $4.00 per piece, then thesoftware calculates the amount per piece and the total number of piecespurchased and submits the rebate amount to the supplier as well as tothe buyer.

Additionally, the rebate can be determined during the order based on acurrent price curve. For instance, if the first price was $5.00 perpiece and the volume ordered decreases the price to the next tier or to$4.50, then the buyer would submit a request for a rebate for the amountpaid at $5.00 and once received, begin paying the lower price movingforward.

The system can also include a real time rebate curve. For example,buyers purchase enough volume to reach a second price tier. If the firstprice tier is $5.00 per piece and the second price tier is $4.50 perpiece after 50,000 were ordered, the buyer would be entitled to adifference of 50,000×0.50 or $25,000. The software would calculate thisand either inform the supplier of the deficit of the rebate, or thesoftware could calculate the next price tier to achieve.

A variety of options also exist to parcel out the rebate including butnot limited to:

-   -   Not charging product fees until the rebate amount, or amount        owed, is recovered.    -   The original companies that ordered would receive their        commensurate rebate amount based on a percentage of products        they ordered out of the total products ordered. This figure        would also be saved on their online records. They could have a        credit for future purchases or be refunded the rebate to their        online accounts.    -   A reduced fee with a predetermined price floor (e.g., $2.00 per        piece) is established and agreed to by the buyer and/or supplier        until the rebate amount is recouped from the volume.    -   A period of time could be established to make up the difference.        Then, the buyers and supplier would be notified and a second        price ($4.50 in the example above) would be established at that        new price point.    -   This process of options may continue throughout the downward        slope of the price curve as more volume is ordered.

Regarding FIG. 13, although the present invention has been largelydescribed within the context of a seller sponsored dealroom/transaction, it is to be appreciated that buyers and sellers mayconcurrently sponsor a deal room/transaction to aggregate selling of andpurchasing of goods/services by a plurality of sellers and buyersrespectively. For example, a multiple sellers and buyers may employ thepresent invention to create a deal room/transaction forum where aplurality of sellers and buyers may assemble to aggregate selling andbuying of specific goods and/or services that the sellers which to selland the buyers desire to purchase. Such a transaction forum createsgreat efficiencies with respect to purchase price and/or sellingquantity of particular goods/services. For example, in such a forumdedicated to the selling and purchasing of a specific product/service,sellers can assemble to compete for the sale of their respectiveproduct/service which leads to pricing efficiencies. Buyers can assemblein such a forum to aggregate buying power in order to negotiate goodprices and close deals. Sellers on the other hand may also aggregate tomeet the needs of a large buying block.

The subject specification describes exemplary systems and interfaces forimplementing the subject invention, and therefore further discussionthereto is omitted for sake of brevity. However, it is to be appreciatedthat one skilled in the art based on the above discussion regardingseller sponsored deal rooms/transactions could apply such teachings toimplement the aforementioned buyer sponsored deal room/transaction.

The present invention may be implemented via object oriented programmingtechniques. In this case each component of the system, could be anobject in a software routine or a component within an object. Objectoriented programming shifts the emphasis of software development awayfrom function decomposition and towards the recognition of units ofsoftware called “objects” which encapsulate both data and functions.Object Oriented Programming (OOP) objects are software entitiescomprising data structures and operations on data. Together, theseelements enable objects to model virtually any real-world entity interms of its characteristics, represented by its data elements, and itsbehavior represented by its data manipulation functions. In this way,objects can model concrete things like people and computers, and theycan model abstract concepts like numbers or geometrical concepts.

The benefit of object technology arises out of three basic principles:encapsulation, polymorphism and inheritance. Objects hide or encapsulatethe internal structure of their data and the algorithms by which theirfunctions work. Instead of exposing these implementation details,objects present interfaces that represent their abstractions cleanlywith no extraneous information. Polymorphism takes encapsulation onestep further—the idea being many shapes, one interface. A softwarecomponent can make a request of another component without knowingexactly what that component is. The component that receives the requestinterprets it and figures out according to its variables and data how toexecute the request. The third principle is inheritance, which allowsdevelopers to reuse pre-existing design and code. This capability allowsdevelopers to avoid creating software from scratch. Rather, throughinheritance, developers derive subclasses that inherit behaviors whichthe developer then customizes to meet particular needs.

In particular, an object includes, and is characterized by, a set ofdata (e.g., attributes) and a set of operations (e.g., methods), thatcan operate on the data. Generally, an object's data is ideally changedonly through the operation of the object's methods. Methods in an objectare invoked by passing a message to the object (e.g., message passing).The message specifies a method name and an argument list. When theobject receives the message, code associated with the named method isexecuted with the formal parameters of the method bound to thecorresponding values in the argument list. Methods and message passingin OOP are analogous to procedures and procedure calls inprocedure-oriented software environments.

However, while procedures operate to modify and return passedparameters, methods operate to modify the internal state of theassociated objects (by modifying the data contained therein). Thecombination of data and methods in objects is called encapsulation.Encapsulation provides for the state of an object to only be changed bywell-defined methods associated with the object. When the behavior of anobject is confined to such well-defined locations and interfaces,changes (e.g., code modifications) in the object will have minimalimpact on the other objects and elements in the system.

Each object is an instance of some class. A class includes a set of dataattributes plus a set of allowable operations (e.g., methods) on thedata attributes. As mentioned above, OOP supports inheritance—a class(called a subclass) may be derived from another class (called a baseclass, parent class, etc.), where the subclass inherits the dataattributes and methods of the base class. The subclass may specializethe base class by adding code which overrides the data and/or methods ofthe base class, or which adds new data attributes and methods. Thus,inheritance represents a mechanism by which abstractions are madeincreasingly concrete as subclasses are created for greater levels ofspecialization.

The present invention can employ abstract classes, which are designs ofsets of objects that collaborate to carry out a set of responsibilities.Frameworks are essentially groups of interconnected objects and classesthat provide a prefabricated structure for a working application. Itshould also be appreciated that the PCM and the shared memory componentscould be implemented utilizing hardware and/or software, and all suchvariations are intended to fall within the appended claims includedherein.

According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, Java andCORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) are employed to carryout the present invention. Java is an object-oriented, distributed,secure, architecture neutral language. Java provides for object-orienteddesign which facilitates the clean definition of interfaces and makes itpossible to provide reusable “software ICs.” Java has an extensivelibrary of routines for copying easily with TCP/IP protocols like HTTPand FTP. Java applications can open and access objects across a networkvia URLs with the same ease to which programmers are accustomed toaccessing a local file system.

Furthermore, Java utilizes “references” in place of a pointer model andso eliminates the possibility of overwriting memory and corrupting data.Instead of pointer arithmetic that is employed in many conventionalsystems, the Java “virtual machine” mediates access to Java objects(attributes and methods) in a type-safe way. In addition, it is notpossible to turn an arbitrary integer into a reference by casting (aswould be the case in C and C++ programs). In so doing, Java enables theconstruction of virus-free, tamper-free systems. The changes to thesemantics of references make it virtually impossible for applications toforge access to data structures or to access private data in objectsthat they do not have access to. As a result, most activities of virusesare precluded from corrupting a Java system.

Java affords for the support of applications on networks. Networks arecomposed of a variety of systems with a variety of CPU and operatingsystem architectures. To enable a Java application to execute anywhereon the network, a compiler generates an architecture neutral object fileformat—the compiled code is executable on many processors, given thepresence of the Java runtime system. Thus, Java is useful not only fornetworks but also for single system software distribution. In thepresent personal computer market, application writers have to produceversions of their applications that are compatible with the IBM PC andwith the Apple Macintosh. However, with Java, the same version of theapplication runs on all platforms. The Java compiler accomplishes thisby generating byte code instructions which have nothing to do with aparticular computer architecture. Rather, they are designed to be botheasy to interpret on any machine and easily translated into nativemachine code on the fly.

Being architecture neutral, the “implementation dependent” aspects ofthe system are reduced or eliminated. The Java virtual machine (VM) canexecute Java byte codes directly on any machine to which the VM has beenported. Since linking is a more incremental and lightweight process, thedevelopment process can be much more rapid and exploratory. As part ofthe byte code stream, more compile-time information is carried over andavailable at runtime.

Thus, the use of Java in the present invention provides a server to sendprograms over the network as easily as traditional servers send data.These programs can display and manipulate data on a client computer. Thepresent invention through the use of Java supports execution on multipleplatforms. That is the same programs can be run on substantially allcomputers—the same Java program can work on a Macintosh, a Windows 95machine, a Sun workstation, etc. To effect such multi-platform support,a network interface 105 and a network browser (not shown) such asNetscape Navigator® or Microsoft Internet Explorer® may be used in atleast one aspect of the present invention. It should be appreciated,however, that a Java stand-alone application may be constructed toachieve a substantially equivalent result. Although the presentinvention is described with respect to employing Java, it will beappreciated that any suitable programming language or programmingenvironment may be employed to carry out the present invention.

An Internet explorer (e.g., Netscape®, Microsoft Internet Explorer®) isheld within the memory of the client computer. The Internet explorerenables a user to explore the Internet and view documents from theInternet. The Internet explorer may include client programs for protocolhandlers for different Internet protocols (e.g., HTTP, FTP and Gopher)to facilitate browsing using different protocols.

It is to be appreciated that any programming methodology and/or computerarchitecture suitable for carrying out the present invention may beemployed and are intended to fall within the scope of the heretoappended claims.

Furthermore, while the invention has been described supra in the generalcontext of computer-executable instructions of a computer program thatruns on a computer and/or computers, those skilled in the art willrecognize that the invention also may be implemented in combination withother program modules. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform particulartasks and/or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the inventive methods may bepracticed with other computer system configurations, includingsingle-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, mini-computingdevices, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-heldcomputing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, and the like.

What has been described above includes examples of the presentinvention. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivablecombination of components or methodologies for purposes of describingthe present invention, but one of ordinary skill in the art mayrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the presentinvention are possible. Accordingly, the present invention is intendedto embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fallwithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to theextent that the term “includes” is used in either the detaileddescription or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in amanner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpretedwhen employed as a transitional word in a claim.

1. An electronic multiple supplier system for transacting businesscomprising: a central connection component that provides a virtual forumto facilitate electronic communication between buyers and suppliers; andat least one remote computer connected to the central connectioncomponent via a network, at least one buyer employs the at least onecomputer to request, retrieve, and accept online bids that include aprice curve for a product from bidding suppliers, the price curvespecifying a unit price in tiers based on the total volume purchased,the virtual forum displays in real time current low bids at each tier asthe bids are retrieved.
 2. The system of claim 1, the central connectioncomponent is a server.
 3. The system of claim 1, the virtual forumdisplays a bidding supplier associated with each low bid.
 4. The systemof claim 1, the virtual forum limits the period during which bids can beaccepted.
 5. The system of claim 1, the virtual forum is an Internet webpage.
 6. The system of claim 1, the virtual forum is an Internet chatroom.
 7. The system of claim 1, the virtual forum further comprises abid modification component that updates the price curve associated witha bidding supplier in real time.
 8. The system of claim 1, the virtualforum is configured to display in real time current best bids at eachtier.
 9. The system of claim 8, a best bid is based upon a price andanother criterion.
 10. The system of claim 1, further comprising apopulation component that automatically populates the price curve for aproduct.
 11. The system of claim 10, the population component populatesthe price curve with data corresponding to a previously submitted bid.12. The system of claim 11, the previously submitted bid was a winningbid.
 13. A method of conducting electronic commerce comprising:employing at least one processor to execute computer executableinstructions stored in memory to perform the following acts: requestingan online bid from a plurality of suppliers; receiving bids from biddingsuppliers, each bid specifies a price for which the associated biddingsupplier will sell a product at particular price points varying as afunction of a quantity of the product; displaying in real time a lowestprice bid at a respective price point as bids are received; andaccepting a bid.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprisingdisplaying the respective bidding supplier associated with the lowestprice bid.
 15. The method of claim 13, accepting the bid based on thelowest price.
 16. The method of claim 13, receiving bids during alimited period of time only.
 17. The method of claim 16, a buyerspecifies the period of time in which bids must be received.
 18. Themethod of claim 13, a buyer specifies a ship date.
 19. The method ofclaim 13, accepting the bid includes accepting a supplier for a fixedlength of time.
 20. The method of claim 19 further comprising:determining the final price paid at the end of a time period;calculating the average price paid per product; and providing a rebatewhen the average price paid is not equal to the final price determinedaccording to the volume of product purchased.
 21. The method of claim20, providing the rebate to the supplier when the average price paid islower than the final price determined.
 22. The method of claim 20,providing the rebate to the buyer when the average price paid is higherthan the final price determined.
 23. The method of claim 22, providingthe rebate comprising not charging product fees until the rebate isrecovered.
 24. The method of claim 22, providing the rebate comprisingreducing a fee with a predetermined price floor established until therebate is recouped.
 25. The method of claim 20, providing the rebatecomprising crediting an online account.
 26. The method of claim 13, thebidding suppliers are a subset of the plurality of suppliers.
 27. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising receiving updated bids from atleast one of the bidding suppliers.
 28. The method of claim 13,accepting the bid based on the lowest price and at least one othercriterion.